Award-Winning Mandarin Chinese Courses & Classes in Washington DC

Whether you are a Georgetown University student looking to fulfill language credits, a high school student at Sidwell Friends school, or an individual looking to take up a new language, Varsity Tutors offers a Washington DC Chinese course that could positively impact your language learning experience. Learning a new language can be difficult for anyone, and Chinese dialects can be a particular challenge for English speakers. Furthermore, a traditional classroom may not fully emerge you in the Chinese language. Some of the most important factors in your success in speaking Chinese will be how often you have the opportunity to practice your writing and speaking skills in the language. With a Washington DC course, you will get these opportunities, plus an atmosphere for learning and an expert instructor who can immerse you in the language.

Chinese is the most popular language in the world, with over a billion native speakers. The Chinese language has several dialects. These include Xiang, Wu, Gan, Hakka, and Mandarin. Mandarin is the most popular of the dialects. It is the official language in The People's Republic of China and Taiwan. The dialect that is spoken by most United States Chinese speakers is Cantonese. All forms of Chinese share the same writing system. Written Chinese is thousands of years old, with significant evidence dating back to the Shang Dynasty, which ruled from 1700 to 1027 B.C. In all forms of Chinese, there is no alphabet. Over 50,000 characters exist in the Chinese language, with each symbol representing one syllable. Of the 50,000 symbols, only about 20,000 characters are regularly used. The majority of written Chinese is communicated using around 2,500 characters. Today, Chinese is the only modern pictographic language. Many of the Chinese characters used today come from ancient drawings of the items they were meant to describe. Because these symbols are not letters, they give no clues as to how they would be pronounced and each symbol must be learned individually.

Chinese is considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn because it has little in common with English and the character system is very hard to grasp. However, learning Chinese can give you an edge if you are interested in careers in international business and trade. Even though the language is complex, it can open a door to many opportunities and expose you to Eastern culture as well. With a Chinese course, we can help you build your command of this fascinating language.

What material will a Washington DC Chinese class cover?

It can be very hard to learn any language alone. That is why a Washington DC Chinese course can help you go over all the fundamentals, rules, and concepts you need to start learning Chinese. Chinese is a tonal language, which means a word's meaning can change according to how the speaker says it. There are four tones in Mandarin Chinese, which are flat, rising, falling, and falling then rising. Other dialects have up to nine different tones. Another concept that can be difficult to grasp is that Chinese has no articles, verb inflections, or plurals. All words have only one grammatical form. This means that there is no such thing as plural nouns being marked with an "s" at the end, like in English. Nouns retain the same form no matter if they are in singular or plural form. Even though this is a difficult concept, Chinese is easier to understand once the learner comprehends this. Likewise, learning that English words can change form is difficult for Chinese speakers who are learning English to pick up on.

Another topic of study is pronouns. Pronouns have different characters based on gender. The characters look the same but are pronounced differently. Other topics of study are verbs, common phrases, reading Chinese, grammar and sentence structure, Chinese history, and Chinese culture, customs, and traditions. With all of these topics and concepts, you will have plenty of resources for learning Chinese.

How will a Washington DC Chinese class help me learn this language?

A Washington DC class is taught in an online, interactive classroom. It is led by a knowledgeable Chinese instructor. You will be able to interact and communicate with classmates and your instructor, so you can engage in activities and have conversations in Chinese with your peers. You will have a chance to boost your Chinese language abilities by having easy access to discussions in your class over the internet. Because your class is online, you will never have to commute. So, go to your favorite study spot and learn with ease. With classmates, you can work out problems together as a team. If you are really stuck on a topic, you will always have an instructor ready to assist you. In fact, you can even schedule one-on-one time with them. This is a great option if you feel you need extra help on a concept or you are falling behind. With plenty of resources and expert instructors to help you along the way, a Chinese class can help you develop your language learning skills.

Another advantage of taking a Chinese class is how accessible and flexible the class sessions are. As busy professionals and students, your schedule can be very busy. From meetings, classes, and home life, it can be hard to find time to learn a new language. That's why we offer new classes monthly, with many different session times to pick from. With this kind of flexibility and the effective format we provide, you can really enjoy learning Chinese writing and dialects.

How can I sign up for a Washington DC class?

If you want to learn more about a Washington DC Chinese class, contact Varsity Tutors today. With a solid ability to communicate with Chinese speakers around the world, you could enjoy a vacation, take advantage of international career options, and more. You can get in touch with an educational consultant by phone or online. We look forward to helping you build your command of the Chinese language.